TOKYO, July 9 (AFP) - A Japanese scientist warned on Tuesday that
playing video games everyday may lower the activity of the part of the
brain that controls emotion.

Akio Mori, a professor of neurology specialising in cranial nerve study
at Nihon University in Tokyo, plans to present his findings at a meeting
of the Society for Neuroscience in November in Orlando, Florida.

The professor conducted experiments over the past two years in Japan,
involving 240 people aged between six and 29.

According to his findings, those people who played video games for two
to seven hours per day failed to emit beta brainwaves -- a gauge of levels
of activity at the foremost part of the frontal lobe which plays a role in
controlling emotion and enhancing creativity.

"If levels of beta brainwaves are very low, people get angry
easily and have difficulty in concentrating," Mori said.

"We are very concerned about the impact of video games on
children's brains," the professor said.

"We are also concerned about a possible impact of video games on
the autonomic nervous system," which controls subconscious actions
such as breathing.

One of the subjects who showed little beta brainwave activity recovered
normal levels of the brainwave some three months after he stopped playing
video games and played with beanbags instead, Mori said.